Welcome, Class of 2017!

Stories Students | Aug 22, 2013 | Nicole Gesualdo

Well, hello, Class of 2017!

You’re ours now.

Today, members of the freshman class experienced their one-day transition into Gabelli School students — a.k.a. academic orientation.

They heard from a roster of distinguished speakers, among them Mario Gabelli (GSB ’65) himself, University President Joseph M. McShane, S.J., and Dean Donna Rapaccioli. They also met two young alumnae, Jillian Switzer (GSB ’11) and Lauren Jantsch (GSB ’11), who talked about what it was like to graduate from the Gabelli School and head straight to work at Google. (Both of them still work there!)

Those were the speakers. So, who are these freshmen?

No doubt, they are an accomplished bunch. Taken as a whole, the class has an average SAT score of 1285, the highest in the Gabelli School’s history. More than three-quarters of these students were in the top 25 percent of their high school classes, and close to one in four were in the top 10 percent.

They were selected from among 8,105 applicants. That is the biggest field the Gabelli School has ever seen, 14 percent larger even than the applicant pool for the Class of 2016.

Our freshmen represent 26 states plus Washington, D.C., and more than 10 percent are international students. Three out of four students will be moving into the residence halls on campus, while the remaining quarter will commute.

Congratulations, Class of 2017 — there are so many great things awaiting you here at Fordham, and we very much look forward to getting to know you better.